Divine Office Office of Readings

Jan 23, Invitatory for Friday of the 2nd week of Ordinary Time

Lord, open my lips. — And my mouth will proclaim your praise. Ant. Come let us praise the Lord in whom is all our delight. Psalm 95 Come, let us sing to the Lord and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us. Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving and sing joyful songs to the Lord. Ant. Come let us praise the Lord in whom is all our delight. The Lord is God, the mighty God, the great king over all the gods. He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the highest mountains as well He made the sea; it belongs to him, the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands. Ant. Come let us praise the Lord in whom is all our delight. Come, then, let us bow down and worship, bending the knee before the Lord, our maker, For he is our God and we are his people, the flock he shepherds. Ant. Come let us praise the Lord in whom is all our delight. Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did in the wilderness, when at Meriba and Massah they challenged me and provoked me, Although they had seen all of my works. Ant. Come let us praise the Lord in whom is all our delight. Forty years I endured that generation. I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray and they do not know my ways.” So I swore in my anger, “They shall not enter into my rest.” Ant. Come let us praise the Lord in whom is all our delight. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: — as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Ant. Come let us praise the Lord in whom is all our delight.

Jan 23, Office of Readings for Friday of the 2nd week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement: Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III: Ordinary: 651 Proper of Seasons: 98 Psalter: Friday, Week II, 937 Office of Readings for Friday in Ordinary Time God, come to my assistance. — Lord, make haste to help me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: — as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia. HYMN 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me by the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table for me in the presence of my enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of my Lord for ever. 𝄞"Psalm 23" by Melinda Kirigin-Voss [https://divineoffice.org/melinda-kirigin-voss/] • Available on iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/yesterday-today-and-forever/id418013978] • Text from Psalm 23 King James Version; Used wih permission • Albums that contain this Hymn: Yesterday, Today, and Forever PSALMODY Ant. 1 Lord, in your anger, do not punish me. Psalm 38 A sinner in extreme danger prays earnestly to God All his friends were standing at a distance (Luke 23:49). I O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger; do not punish me, Lord, in your rage. Your arrows have sunk deep in me; your hand has come down upon me. Through your anger all my body is sick: through my sin, there is no health in my limbs. My guilt towers higher than my head; it is a weight too heavy to bear. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: — as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Ant. Lord, in your anger, do not punish me. Ant. 2 Lord, you know all my longings. II My wounds are foul and festering, the result of my own folly. I am bowed and brought to my knees. I go mourning all the day long. All my frame burns with fever; all my body is sick. Spent and utterly crushed, I cry aloud in anguish of heart. O Lord, you know all my longing: my groans are not hidden from you. My heart throbs, my strength is spent; the very light has gone from my eyes. My friends avoid me like a leper; those closest to me stand afar off. Those who plot against my life lay snares; those who seek my ruin speak of harm, planning treachery all the day long. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: — as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Ant. Lord, you know all my longings. Ant. 3 I confess my guilt to you, Lord; do not abandon me, for you are my savior. III But I am like the deaf who cannot hear, like the dumb unable to speak. I am like a man who hears nothing, in whose mouth is no defense. I count on you, O Lord: it is you, Lord God, who will answer. I pray: “Do not let them mock me, those who triumph if my foot should slip.” For I am on the point of falling and my pain is always before me. I confess that I am guilty and my sin fills me with dismay. My wanton enemies are numberless and my lying foes are many. They repay me evil for good and attack me for seeking what is right. O Lord, do not forsake me! My God, do not stay afar off! Make haste and come to my help, O Lord, my God, my savior! Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: — as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Psalm-prayer Do not abandon us, Lord our God; you did not forget the broken body of your Christ, nor the mockery his love received. We, your children, are weighed down with sin; give us the fullness of your mercy. Ant. I confess my guilt to you, Lord; do not abandon me, for you are my savior. Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church. My eyes keep watch for your saving help. — Awaiting the word that will justify me. READINGS First reading From the book of Deuteronomy 10:12—11:9, 26-28 God alone decides Moses spoke to the people, saying: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord, your God, ask of you but to fear the Lord, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord which I enjoin on you today for your own good? Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the Lord, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it. Yet in his love for your fathers the Lord was so attached to them as to choose you, their descendants, in preference to all other peoples, as indeed he has now done. “Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no longer stiff-necked. For the Lord, your God, is the God of gods, the Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who has no favorites, accepts no bribes; who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him. So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. The Lord, your God, shall you fear, and him shall you serve; hold fast to him and swear by his name. He is your glory, he, your God, who has done for you those great and terrible things which your own eyes have seen. Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy strong, and now the Lord, your God, has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky. “Love the Lord, your God, therefore, and always heed his charge: his statutes, decrees and commandments. “It is not your children, who have not known it from experience, but you yourselves who must now understand the discipline of the Lord, your God; his majesty, his strong hand and outstretched arm; the signs and deeds he wrought among the Egyptians, on Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and on all his land; what he did to the Egyptian army and to their horses and chariots, engulfing them in the water of the Red Sea as they pursued you, and bringing ruin upon them even to this day; what he did for you in the desert until you arrived in this place; and what he did to the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, when the ground opened its mouth and swallowed them up out of the midst of Israel, with their families and tents and every living thing that belonged to them. “With your own eyes you have seen all these great deeds that the Lord has done. Keep all the commandments, then, which I enjoin on you today, that you may be strong enough to enter in and take possession of the land into which you are crossing, and that you may have long life on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers he would give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. “I set before you here, this day, a blessing and a curse: a blessing for obeying the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I enjoin on you today; a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, but turn aside from the way I ordain for you today, to follow other gods, whom you have not known.” RESPONSORY 1 John 4:19; 5:3; 2:5 Let us love God, for he first loved us. To love God means keeping his commandments, — and his commandments are not burdensome. The love of God reaches perfection in those who are obedient to his word. — And his commandments are not burdensome. Second reading From the treatise On Spiritual Perfection by Diadochus of Photice, bishop All our love must be for God No one who is in love with himself is capable of loving God. The man who loves God is the one who mortifies his self-love for the sake of the immeasurable blessings of divine love. Such a man never seeks his own glory but only the glory of God. If a person loves himself he seeks his own glory, but the man who loves God loves the glory of his Creator. Anyone alive to the love of God can be recognized from the way he constantly strives to glorify him by fulfilling all his commandments and by delighting in his own abasement. Because of his great majesty it is fitting that God should receive glory, but if he hopes to win God’s favor it becomes man to be humble. If we possess this love for God, we too will rejoice in his glory as Saint John the Baptist did, and we shall never stop repeating: His fame must increase, but mine must diminish. I know a man who, though lamenting his failure to love God as much as he desires, yet loves him so much that his soul burns with ceaseless longing for God to be glorified, and for his own complete effacement. This man has no feeling of self importance even when he receives praise. So deep is his desire to humble himself that he never even thinks of his own dignity. He fulfills his priestly duty by celebrating the Liturgy, but his intense love for God is an abyss that swallows up all consciousness of his high office. His humility makes him oblivious of any honor it might bring him, so that in his own estimation he is never anything but a useless servant. Because of his desire for self abasement, he regards himself as though degraded from his office. His example is one that we ourselves should follow by fleeing from all honor and glory for the sake of the immeasurable blessings of God’s love, for he has loved us so much! Anyone who loves God in the depths of his heart has already been loved by God. In fact, the measure of a man’s love for God depends upon how deeply aware he is of God’s love for him. When this awareness is keen it makes whoever possesses it long to be enlightened by the divine light, and this longing is so intense that it seems to penetrate his very bones. He loses all consciousness of himself and is entirely transformed by the love of God. Such a man lives in this life and at the same time does not live in it, for although he still inhabits his body, he is constantly leaving it in spirit because of the love that draws him toward God. Once the love of God has released him from self-love, the flame of divine love never ceases to burn in his heart and he remains united to God by an irresistible longing. As the Apostle says: If we are taken out of ourselves it is for the love of God; if we are brought back to our senses it is for your sake. RESPONSORY John 3:16; 1 John 4:10 God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son — so that all who believe in him may not die but may have eternal life. This is the meaning of love: we did not love God; he has loved us. — So that all who believe in him may not die but may have eternal life. CONCLUDING PRAYER Almighty ever-living God, who govern all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. — Amen. Acclamation (at least in the communal celebration) Let us praise the Lord. — And give him thanks.

Jan 24, Invitatory for Saturday of the 2nd week of Ordinary Time

Lord, open my lips. — And my mouth will proclaim your praise. Ant. Let us listen to the voice of God, let us enter into his rest.[1] Psalm 100 Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing for joy. Ant. Let us listen to the voice of God, let us enter into his rest. Know that he, the Lord, is God. He made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the sheep of his flock. Ant. Let us listen to the voice of God, let us enter into his rest. Go within his gates, giving thanks. Enter his courts with songs of praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name. Ant. Let us listen to the voice of God, let us enter into his rest. Indeed, how good is the Lord, eternal his merciful love. He is faithful from age to age. Ant. Let us listen to the voice of God, let us enter into his rest. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: — as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Ant. Let us listen to the voice of God, let us enter into his rest. [1]Note: When we made the sung recordings (for the Invitatory and the psalmody for high rank celebrations) we used the Mundelein Psalter. The text is meant to facilitate singing so that’s the reason you may notice differences.

Jan 24, Office of Readings for Saturday of the 2nd week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement: Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III: Ordinary: 651 Proper of Seasons: 103 Psalter: Saturday, Week II, 958 Office of Readings for Saturday in Ordinary Time God, come to my assistance. — Lord, make haste to help me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: — as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia. HYMN Ave Maria, gratia plena Dominus tecum Benedicta tu in mulieribus Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus Sancta Maria, Mater Dei Ora pro nobis peccatoribus Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae Amen. English Translation: Hail Mary, full of grace The Lord is with thee Blessed are thou among women Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus Holy Mary, Mother of God Pray for us sinners Now, and at the hour of our death Amen. 𝄞"Ave Maria" by Gretchen Harris [http://www.gretchen-harris.com] • Musical Score [https://divineoffice.org/wp-content/uploads/Ave-Maria-CHANT-Mode-I-DivOfcOrg-C-orig.pdf] • Title: Ave Maria (Chant); Album: Sing of Mary; Music; Plainsong mode I; vocal: Gretchen Harris; Used with permission; Visit and thank Gretch at http://www.gretchen-harris.com; PSALMODY Ant. 1 None but the Lord has done such marvels; his love endures for ever. Psalm 136 Paschal hymn We praise God by recalling his marvelous deeds (Cassiodorus). I O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love endures for ever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his love endures for ever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his love endures for ever; who alone has wrought marvellous works, for his love endures for ever; whose wisdom it was made the skies, for his love endures for ever; who fixed the earth firmly on the seas, for his love endures for ever. It was he who made the great lights, for his love endures for ever, the sun to rule in the day, for his love endures for ever, the moon and stars in the night, for his love endures for ever. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: — as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Ant. None but the Lord has done such marvels; his love endures for ever. Ant. 2 He brought Israel out of Egypt with powerful hand and arm outstretched. II The first-born of the Egyptians he smote, for his love endures for ever. He brought Israel out from their midst, for his love endures for ever; arm outstretched, with power in his hand, for his love endures for ever. He divided the Red Sea in two, for his love endures for ever; he made Israel pass through the midst, for his love endures for ever; he flung Pharaoh and his force in the sea, for his love endures for ever. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: — as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Ant. He brought Israel out of Egypt with powerful hand and arm outstretched. Ant. 3 Give praise to the God of heaven; he has ransomed us from our enemies. III Through the desert his people he led, for his love endures for ever. Nations in their greatness he struck, for his love endures for ever. Kings in their splendor he slew, for his love endures for ever. Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his love endures for ever; and Og, the king of Bashan, for his love endures for ever. He let Israel inherit their land, for his love endures for ever. On his servant their land he bestowed, for his love endures for ever. He remembered us in our distress, for his love endures for ever. And he snatched us away from our foes, for his love endures for ever. He gives food to all living things, for his love endures for ever. To the God of heaven give thanks, for his love endures for ever. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: — as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Psalm-prayer God, our Creator, how wonderfully you made us. You transformed dust into your own image and gave it a share in your own nature; yet you are more wonderful in pardoning the one who had rebelled against you. Grant that where sin has abounded, grace may more abound, so that we can become holier through forgiveness and be more grateful to you. Ant. Give praise to the God of heaven; he has ransomed us from our enemies. Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church. Lord, show me your ways. — Teach me to walk in your footsteps. READINGS First reading From the book of Deuteronomy 16:1-17 The observance of the feasts Moses spoke to the people, saying: “Observe the month of Abib by keeping the Passover of the Lord, your God, since it was in the month of Abib that he brought you by night out of Egypt. You shall offer the Passover sacrifice from your flock or your herd to the Lord, your God, in the place which he chooses as the dwelling place of his name. “You shall not eat leavened bread with it. For seven days you shall eat with it only unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, that you may remember as long as you live the day of your departure from the land of Egypt; for in frightened haste you left the land of Egypt. Nothing leavened may be found in all your territory for seven days, and none of the meat which you sacrificed on the evening of the first day shall be kept overnight for the next day. “You may not sacrifice the Passover in any of the communities which the Lord, your God, gives you; only at the place which he chooses as the dwelling place of his name, and in the evening at sunset, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt, shall you sacrifice the Passover. You shall cook and eat it at the place the Lord, your God, chooses; then in the morning you may return to your tents. For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh there shall be a solemn meeting in honor of the Lord, your God; on that day you shall not do any sort of work. “You shall count off seven weeks, computing them from the day when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. You shall then keep the feast of Weeks in honor of the Lord, your God, and the measure of your own freewill offering shall be in proportion to the blessing the Lord, your God, has bestowed on you. In the place which the Lord, your God, chooses as the dwelling place of his name, you shall make merry in his presence together with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who belongs to your community, as well as the alien, the orphan and the widow among you. Remember that you too were once slaves in Egypt, and carry out these statutes carefully. “You shall celebrate the feast of Booths for seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and wine press. You shall make merry at your feast, together with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and also the Levite, the alien, the orphan and the widow who belong to your community. For seven days you shall celebrate this pilgrim feast in honor of the Lord, your God, in the place which he chooses; since the Lord, your God, has blessed you in all your crops and in all your undertakings, you shall do nought but make merry. “Three times a year, then, every male among you shall appear before the Lord, your God, in the place which he chooses: at the feast of Unleavened Bread, at the feast of Weeks, and at the feast of Booths. No one shall appear before the Lord empty-handed, but each of you with as much as he can give, in proportion to the blessings which the Lord, your God, has bestowed on you.” RESPONSORY Deuteronomy 16:14, 15; Nahum 1:15 Your feast must be a time of rejoicing for you and your son and your daughter, for the Levite too, and the stranger, for the orphan and the widow; — and then the Lord will bless you and fill you with joy. See, even now over the mountain the messenger of good tidings comes! Peace, he cries out. Rejoice, Judah, and celebrate your feasts. — And then the Lord will bless you and fill you with joy. Second reading From the treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop The pure oblation of the Church The oblation of the Church, which the Lord taught was to be offered throughout the whole world, has been regarded by God as a pure sacrifice, and is acceptable to him. Not that he needs sacrifice from us, but the one who makes the offering himself receives glory in his offering, provided that his gift is accepted. Through a gift both honor and love are shown to a king. The Lord wants us to make our offering in all sincerity and freedom from sin. He declared this when he said: When, therefore, you offer your gift at the altar and remember that your brothers holds something against you, leave your gift before the altar, and first go and be reconciled with your brother; and then come back and offer your gift. We must offer God the first fruits of his creation, as Moses said: You will not come empty-handed into the presence of the Lord your God. In showing gratitude to God for his gifts man is to be accounted pleasing to God, and so receive the honor that comes from God. It is not oblations as such that have met with disapproval. There were oblations of old; there are oblations now. There were sacrifices among the people of Israel; there are sacrifices in the Church. Only the kind of oblation has been changed: now it is offered by freemen, not by slaves. There is one and the same Lord, but the character of an oblation made by slaves is distinctive, so too that of an oblation made by sons: their oblations bear the mark of freedom. With God there is nothing without purpose, nothing without its meaning and reason. Thus the people of Israel used to dedicate tithes of their possessions. But those who have been given freedom devote what they possess to the Lord’s use. They give it all to him, not simply what is of lesser value, cheerfully and freely because they hope for greater things, like the poor widow who put into God’s treasury her whole livelihood. We must make oblation to God, and in all things be found pleasing to God the Creator, in sound teaching, in sincere faith, in firm hope, in ardent love, as we offer the first fruits of the creatures that are his. The Church alone offers this pure oblation to the Creator when it makes its offering to him from his creation, with thanksgiving. We offer him what is his, and so we proclaim communion and unity and profess our belief in the resurrection of flesh and spirit. Just as bread from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread but the Eucharist, made up of two elements, one earthly and one heavenly, so also our bodies, in receiving the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, for they have the hope of resurrection. RESPONSORY Hebrews 10:1, 14; Ephesians 5:2 The law was but a shadow of the good things to come, not a living likeness of them. With the same sacrifices repeatedly offered year after year, it can never bring men to perfection. — Christ made one offering, himself, and by virtue of it he made those who believe in him holy for ever. Christ loved us, and gave himself up to death for us as an offering and sacrifice to God. — Christ made one offering, himself, and by virtue of it he made those who believe in him holy for ever. CONCLUDING PRAYER Almighty ever-living God, who govern all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. — Amen. Acclamation (at least in the communal celebration) Let us praise the Lord. — And give him thanks.

Jan 26, Invitatory for Monday of the 3rd week of Ordinary Time

Lord, open my lips. — And my mouth will proclaim your praise. Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving. Psalm 24 The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on the seas; on the waters he made it firm. Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving. Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things, who has not sworn so as to deceive his neighbor. Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving. He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob. Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving. O gates, lift high your heads; grow higher, ancient doors. Let him enter, the king of glory! Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving. Who is the king of glory? The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, the Lord, the valiant in war. Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving. O gates, lift high your heads; grow higher, ancient doors. Let him enter, the king of glory! Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving. Who is he, the king of glory? He, the Lord of armies, he is the king of glory. Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: — as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.